Brotherly Comfort
by Dreamer1920
Summary: While Mr. Krabs is out and about on a quiet evening, he needs SpongeBob to swing by his place and check up on things. SpongeBob gladly does the job. However, his job quickly becomes a lot more meaningful than he expected. (Rated T just for safety).


**Hi! I'm here with a little one-shot of SpongeBob and Pearl. I felt inspired to write this after thinking about the episode "Tunnel of Glove" and how much I loved Sponge and Pearl's interactions in it. And I've always just loved their relationship in general. It feels kind of brotherly-sisterly to me. Anyway, hope you like it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own SpongeBob SquarePants or any of its characters.**

**Brotherly Comfort**

It was a calm evening in Bikini Bottom. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, and the sky set the mood for a relaxing night for SpongeBob and his beloved pet snail, Gary. Well, relaxing, yes. But only for a short time. SpongeBob, the majority of the time, was anything _but_ relaxed. And he proved that notion true to Gary almost every single day he spent with him.

Gary sat on the old, blue and green couch, lazily surfing the channels on the television with the remote control. He bypassed all the boring shows: the sports, the news, the infomercials about the latest and greatest gadgets and things that the average consumer absolutely "needed" in their lives. The bored mollusk sighed.

"Meow? (Ugh, is there ever anything **good** on?)"

"Only in the wee hours of the night or in the morning, Gare Bear," said SpongeBob as he came into the living room, carrying a medium-sized box that was covered with a beige-colored sheet. The happy-go-lucky sponge, who was already dressed in his sleeping attire, set the box onto the floor and knelt down in front of it.

His pet shot him a questioning look. "Meow? (What's that?)

SpongeBob looked up at him and smiled. "I've noticed you spend **way** too much time in front of that TV, Gary. So, on my way home from work today, I picked this up from the bookstore!" SpongeBob pulled the sheet off to reveal a brand-new game of Bingo.

"Ta-da! Or should I say, _**Bingo!**_ Dahaha!" the silly sponge chuckled.

An unimpressed Gary rolled his eyes and hopped down from the couch. "Meow (Please, it's too late in the day for bad jokes.)"

SpongeBob shook his head and showed an amused smile. "It's **never** too late for some good laughs, Gary. Now, turn off that TV and let's get crackin'!"

Gary sighed, slithering over toward the television and hitting the "power" button with his eyestalk. "Meow (I don't see why we have to play this game.)"

SpongeBob began to empty the contents of the box onto the floor. "Because it's fun! Don't ya want to have fun, Gary?" he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"Meow, meow (Sure. But I'd rather play something like "Spin the Bottle" with my friends than play a game that's meant for old people. Like Squidward.)"

"I HEARD THAT!" Squidward yelled from his bedroom window.

SpongeBob smiled nervously and set up the items in front of them. "Don't be such a downer, Gary. Now, you read the instructions and I'll go get us some warm seahorse milk." The sponge got up from the ground and headed towards the kitchen.

_**Ring, ring!**_ The shell-phone blared. SpongeBob turned around before he could enter the kitchen. "Hm, I wonder who could be calling at this hour?" he picked up the purple phone that sat on the arm of the red chair. "SpongeBob speaking," he spoke pleasantly.

"Ah, SpongeBoy, me Bob! Just the voice I wanted to hear. Glad it wasn't that little troublemakin' snail of yours who answered this time." Mr. Krabs chuckled on the other end.

"Oh, hey, Mr. Krabs! What makes you say that? My Gary didn't say anything out of line to you, did he?"

Mr. Krabs hesitated. "Well, let's just say that the last time I called your place, I was grounded by me own mother after she thought I was cursin' back and forth with a telemarketer. Heh, heh."

SpongeBob gasped, furrowing his brows at his pet. "Gary, how many times do I have to tell you to **stop** saying bad words to people? It's not nice."

"Meow? (What? It's not like I said number eleven.)"

SpongeBob rolled his eyes. "Sorry about that, Mr. Krabs. What is it that you need?"

"I'm on a date night with me sweet Puff, and I was wonderin' if ye could check on me house while I ain't there."

SpongeBob smiled. "Oh, sure thing, sir! Is there anything really specific that you need me to do while I'm there?"

Mr. Krabs rubbed the underside of his chin while he thought. "Hmm… Well, I suppose ye could check to see if I left the TV on or the water runnin'. Heh, Pearl says I'm becomin' forgetful."

SpongeBob chuckled. "Haha, don't worry, Mr. K. I'll get right on it." He smiled.

Mr. Krabs returned his happy tone. "Much appreciated, boy-o. Pearl should be out with her friends, so feel free to laze around a bit if ya like."

"Oh, no-can-do, sir. I won't have time. I've got a very exciting game to get back to when I'm finished. Right, Gare?" the sponge turned towards the spot where the snail had been before.

"Gary?" SpongeBob sighed and shook his head. "I'll be heading out right now, sir."

"Good. The key is under the mat. And don't forget to lock up before ye leave."

SpongeBob saluted his boss, even though he wasn't there to see him do it. "Aye, aye, Cap'n!" with that, the sponge hung up.

_A few minutes later…_

SpongeBob came down the stairs in his regular clothing. "I'll be back soon, Gary!" he shouted while at the front door.

"Meow (Okay. Don't hurry back if you don't want to bore me out of my mind with the game.)" The snail answered from the kitchen.

SpongeBob shook his head in annoyance with his pet. "I swear, that little rascal needs a behavioral specialist."

* * *

_After a long walk…_

SpongeBob came down the dark road on the way to his boss's home. The sun had completely disappeared, and nightfall had taken over the sky. SpongeBob approached the outskirts of the giant anchor. He reached the front door and searched for the key underneath the mat.

"_Boy, it's pretty creepy out here tonight…"_ he thought as fear began to creep upon him. He shakily stuck the key into the lock, slowly turning it to the left. Sweat began to drip down his face as he bit his lip to cope with the overwhelmingness of the dark night.

The door creaked open, slowly revealing the shadow of the sponge in the doorway. "AHH!" he screamed. He then realized there was nothing to be afraid of. "Oh," he laughed, "It's just… your… shadow. Get ahold of yourself, SpongeBob." he stepped inside, shut the door, and felt around for the light switch.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere," he smoothed his hand around on the walls as his eyes glowed in the dark. "Oh, here it is!" he flipped the switch and came face-to-face with a giant skeleton wearing a pirate's hat, swinging back and forth from an open closet.

"AHHHH- Oh… Dahahaha! Looks like Mr. Krabs has a lot of _**skeletons **_in his closet. Haha!" the sound of chirping crickets could be heard.

His face drooped. "Good thing Gary isn't here to make fun of me." The sponge proceeded to check all areas of concern in the house. The television was off, no water was running, and most importantly (in his mind) there weren't any creepy, ghostly figures manifesting themselves.

After making sure everything was safe and sound, he stood in the center of the living room. "Well, everything looks to be in tip-top shape! Except for the dust on this chair." He swiped his hand across the arm of the living room chair that was covered in a thick layer of dust. His face was filled with disgust. "I should probably get Mr. Krabs a duster for Christmas."

He turned towards the door, preparing to walk out. "Well, that clears that up." He smiled with confidence and made his way towards the door.

_**Stop…**_

His foot froze in mid-step when he heard what sounded like weeping. He furrowed his brows, turning his head around toward the staircase. "What was that?" he questioned. After a few moments of silence, he shrugged and headed for the door again.

There it was again. Only this time, the weeping had become louder… more sorrowful and helpless. Was he hearing the cries of a ghost? Was it his imagination? Or something else?

SpongeBob turned around and stared up at the staircase, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Come on, SpongeBob. Whatever it is, it can't be **that** bad…" he chuckled, hearing the weeping again just seconds later.

"Where's big-muscle Larry when ya need him?" he gulped and began his journey up the stairs. After a few moments of painful climbing and not knowing what to expect, SpongeBob made it into the dark upstairs hallway. He cupped his hand against one of the holes on the side of his head, listening for the weeping.

Lo and behold, there it was again. The voice that was expressing this dolefulness sounded very familiar. The weeping was coming from a pure broken heart; filling the world and the sponge's ears with an array of mixed, despaired emotions. He had never heard anything so disheartening. As he listened in closer, he knew where and who it was coming from.

He took a few light steps towards the blue bedroom door that was concealing the source of the sorrowful cries. The pain began to swell within his heart from the sound of the flowing tears. There was nothing SpongeBob hated more than to hear or see someone else's pain. He pressed the side of his head against the door in the dark, wanting so desperately to enter. "Pearl?" he uttered softly.

No response.

He softly knocked against the wood. "Pearl, can I come in?"

She froze for a few moments. "W-who's there?"

"It's me, SpongeBob." His voice was muffled through the door.

A few deep sniffs could be heard on the other side of the door. "W-what do you want, Sp-Sponge-B-Bob?"

SpongeBob winced at the sound of the hoarseness in her voice. "Y-your dad sent me to check up on the place while he's out with Mrs. Puff. He said you'd be out with your friends…"

The whale sucked in a breath. "W-well, too bad. I'm done having friends." The pain in her voice echoed throughout the entire house. It stabbed SpongeBob like a dagger through the heart. He bit his lip, unsure of what to do. "What's wrong, Pearl?"

As she lay in her bed, all wrapped up in her soft blanket, she curled herself into a ball; hugging her knees to her chest. "I-it's nothing, SpongeBob."

"But Pearl…"

"Just go away, _please…_" she whispered the last word as a sob threatened to overtake her voice.

SpongeBob stood there, helpless and begging Neptune for a chance to enter. "Pearl…" he held back his tears. "I-I just want to help you. We're friends, right? Friends tell each other everything."

Friends? With him? She hadn't thought much about it before. After all, she was a teenager with raging hormones. He was a man-child who didn't have a care in the world. What did they possibly have in common that could've made them friends? In those moments, she seemed to have forgotten all the times he had been there for her. SpongeBob was a friend in the truest sense of the word, no matter how annoying he was at times.

"Pearl?" he called softly, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"You wouldn't understand, S-SpongeBob."

"I may not, but I can try."

The little sponge didn't seem to want to give up. The whale sighed. "Alright, fine. Whatever." She buried her face into her pillow as he opened the door to the room, turning on the bedroom light.

Pearl pulled the blanket over her head to shield her eyes from the sudden, blinding light. SpongeBob looked around at the girly room with pink walls and smiled. "Wow, I really like what you've done with the place, Pearl! Did you paint it a new shade of pink? It looks very fashionable." He looked over at the giant lump hidden underneath the blanket. It became apparent that his lighthearted humor was doing nothing to improve her state of sadness.

SpongeBob frowned in disappointment. He always tried to make people laugh, and when they didn't, it made him feel like a failure. He softly walked toward her and stood at the foot of the bed. "What's the matter, Pearl?" he asked, his tone of voice filled with concern.

"I don't want to talk about it." Her voice came off as serious, yet soft and sorrowful.

SpongeBob showed a half-smile. "That's what Gary tells me when he tries to cover up one of his naughty deeds. Come on now, Pearl. Please, tell me what's wrong."

The young teenager sighed and sat up. The blanket fell from her face, revealing the sight of her messy ponytail and dark mascara that ran down her cheeks. "Fine. But you'll have to deal with seeing me like this," she said.

SpongeBob offered a warm smile. "You should see me in the middle of the night after I've had a glass of seahorse milk. Woo! We're talkin' full-on white mustache. I almost look like Santa Claus!"

She couldn't help the small smile that crept up onto her lips at his attempt to cheer her up. But moments later, she was frowning again.

SpongeBob tried looking her in the eyes. "Can I sit down?"

She hesitantly scooted to the side to give him some room. He gently sat down beside her. "I don't think I've ever seen you so sad. What happened, Pearl?"

Pearl blew her nose into a tissue and wiped the mascara from her eyes. "I don't see why I should tell you anything. You're not my dad."

"That may be true, but your dad isn't here right now to help you through whatever it is you're going through. But I am." He placed his hand on her flipper, offering her comfort.

Pearl knew that he was right. If he wasn't there, right at that very moment, she would be left to cry herself to sleep with no comfort other than hugging a few lifeless stuffed animals. She locked eyes with him, examining his motivations through those crystal blue orbs of his. This guy had nothing but love and care in his heart; even though he was what she considered to be a "dork", he was pure-hearted and, quite frankly, all she had at that moment.

She sighed, playing with her flippers. "Okay. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, not even my dad."

He crossed his heart with his right hand. "I promise." He smiled.

"Okay…" she hesitated. "It was something I found out at school today."

He listened carefully. "Uh-huh."

She stared at the floor, reluctant to divulge any further information. "It was…"

SpongeBob squeezed her flipper. "Go on."

She swallowed hard, shifting and sitting in the same position next to him. "I-it had to do w-with one of my closest friends…" she bit back another sob. "A-and my boyfriend…"

SpongeBob's eyes lit up with great concern. "What did he do?"

She looked at him, feeling a mixture of immense sadness and anger building inside of her. "I-it… was more like what **they** did."

The young whale saw the flashbacks hit her like a tidal wave of horror and betrayal. She bit her lip, almost wanting to kick him out of the room and not say another word. But she had to tell him the rest. She had already gotten this far.

The sponge could feel her trembling. She stared at the floor, then looked him straight in the eyes. "I-it was a-at the end of the day, nobody else was around… a-and I left my shell-phone in the locker room…" A single tear trickled down her cheek as the emotion began building in her voice. The sponge stared at her, maintaining eye contact and not saying a word.

"S-so, I went over there. A-a-and you know what happened next? You know what I saw?"

SpongeBob shook his head and gulped upon seeing the wretchedness within her eyes. "N-no…"

"I saw them k-kissing in there. _Kissing!_ And you know what happened after they saw me?" her voice was now shaky and distraught, beginning to spill over with emotion like a rushing waterfall.

"My friend, or, at least, I **thought** she was my friend, c-came up to me and said…" her lips quivered. "T-that I should be glad he was kissing her instead of me… b-because… I'm 'too ugly for him anyways.' Too **UGLY!**" that was about all the young girl could bear to say before she threw her arms around the sponge and cried helplessly into his shoulder.

SpongeBob couldn't believe what he had just heard. He could feel anger and sympathy swirling around in the pit of his stomach. How could anyone, let alone two very close people to her, ever even conceive the idea of doing something so appalling?

The pain radiated from her heart and grabbed onto his, squeezing the life out of it. SpongeBob held onto her tightly as tears fell from both sets of eyes. Even though she was three or four times the size of him, he still managed to fit her within his minuscule grasp. He patted her on the back, rocking back and forth with her in a gentle manner. "I'm so sorry, Pearl. You don't deserve such despicable treatment from two people who were supposed to be the ones who cared for you the most."

Pearl's sobbing turned into gentle and sorrowful weeping. "Y-yeah, well, t-they don't care about me at all. They probably never cared in the first place. Why would anybody care about me? I'm a big, ugly loser. I'm UGLY! Just like she said. I'm not worth anything."

SpongeBob had never felt words hit him so hard. They cut him deep, piercing him right through the heart. SpongeBob couldn't care less when someone like Squidward was insulting towards him, but someone like Pearl, saying words such as those about herself? It practically ripped him apart inside.

He tightened his arms around her, speaking softly. "Pearl, those words couldn't be more untrue. It's a lie, just a big, terrible lie. You're not ugly, inside or out. I hate to have to say this, but you're right. They **don't** care about you. People who are heartless and dead inside care about no one but themselves. It's sad and unfortunate, but it's true."

They pulled away from each other. She looked down at him. "I-I know. So, what am I supposed to do about it?"

He smiled softly at her. Taking out a handkerchief from his pocket, he gently wiped away the tears that stained her cheek. "You can look toward the people who **do** care about you. The people who love you for who are and not what you look like. The people who comfort you in times of need and never turn on you. The people who know what a beautiful person you truly are. And Pearl, as a true friend, I know **just** who you are."

She sniffed deeply and stared into his eyes. His eyes told a story of the genuineness and kindness that he held inside of his heart. As she stared into them, she became drenched in an overwhelming wash of comfort and love. She began to understand, at that moment, what a true friend he was and how deeply he actually cared for her.

"Pearl, please take my advice and don't listen to the people who lie and betray you. Don't even associate with them. Just stick around the people that know who are and will always be there for you no matter what. Me, your dad, Sandy, Patrick, Gary, Squidward- well, that part's kind of debatable."

A chuckle escaped her lips. She wiped her nose with a tissue. She then looked down at the warm, small yellow hand that covered her cold flipper. "Just know that you are loved. Not just by your dad, but by so many people. Including this sponge. I love you, Pearl. You're like the sister I never had."

The two stared into each other's eyes for the longest time. She was unsure of how to feel about his touching words. In those few precious and rare moments, she then fully realized just how much this goofy sponge meant to her. It was something she had never realized before. She realized she didn't need those other people when she had someone like SpongeBob in her life.

They smiled at each other and shared one last loving embrace. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I feel the same way. You're like the brother I never had. I love you too, SpongeBob."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading this. I hope you enjoyed it. See you next time.**


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